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Indiana farmer, 1877, v. 12, no. 11S (Mar. 17)

Page 1

THE SIGNS OF THE TIMES.
§The Balance of Trade Turned
in our Favor.
HE PRODUCTIVE INDUSTRIES
OF THE COUNTRY ON THE
UPGRADE.
i
^jynatrcxD to th« PAiucxa bt nor.«. I. beowh,
OF I-mUMAPOLB.
The month of September, 1873, was nobble for the occurance of one of those
l eriodical convulsions, which at intervals,
- aore or less regular, affect the financial
p.," rorld. These panics, or crises as they
) re called, burst on the commercial in-
< .rests suddenly, and seldom find any one
\ repared for them. On the other hand
\ tie recovery from the depression of busi-
"i ess and the stagnation of trade conse-
l I uent on a financial crisis, is always
j r&dual and preceded by conditions and
" J ircumstancea which indicate the return
•i f prosperity and activity of business. I
' ave watched these waves of prosperity
"' nd adversity for more than half a cen-
* jry, and think I know something of the
hilosophy of their movements.
I « They are not accidents but are gov-
[ - -ned by fixed and uniform laws, by the
" iderstanding of which we may predict
e immediate future with a pood degree
' certainty. A financial crisis ispossi-
e, only under one condition of society,
id though the immediate cause which
epipitates the crash, on different oceans, may be very different, yet that
oxima'.e cause, whatever it may be,
ust find society in a certain condition
the disastrous consequences will not
low.
A HAfiTT GLANCE AT THE CONDITION
the country in 1873, will illustrate
s. We had passed through a civil war
which more than a million of men,
iefly from the producing classes had,
the greater part of four years, spent
ir life in military service in which the
[bits of systematic industry were broken
or at least suspended. At the close of
war most of these men returned to
tfreir former habits of industry, butunfor-
r Innately too many determined to live
tytvithout labor, or at least without such
|*"labor as added anything to the wealth of
'_ the cQuntry. From this class, the professions were directly overcrowded, and
thoje engaged in exchange and trade
greatly in excess of the legitimate
f demands of commerce. The withdrawal
of so large an amount of labor from the
sjthei fields and workshops of the country,
thad the effect of diminishing production,
band under the inevitable law of supply
I, arid demand, prices rose, and this advance
I of trices invited importation from abroad;
► Im we had not money sufficient to meet
'. tha advance in prices, so we coined our
{' op dit and proceeded to buy. When we
bn ■ with money we generally know how
m ch we can buy, but when we coin our
t en dit it is difficult to estimate the amount
I <a hand. For several years before the
pi tic of. 1873 the balance of the foreign
f tri le was against us, so that to pay this
f.hi ince required more gold than the
|'pi duct of our mines annually. The
sa ie was true in regard to the commerce
be ween the eastern cities and the agri-
co tural States of the west.
i i 0N8UMFTION MORE THAN PRODUCTION.
; Tow when men or nations consume
rt re than they produce, or what amounts
I tt ;he same thing, when they buy more
tt n they sell, it requires no intricate
e] 5ulation to determine what must soon-
« or later be the result. ■ When the
icMiif qf the country is strained to its
rtaiost tension any slight disturbance in
otjf-mercial centers is sufficient to create
.*|lanic. When this comes, business is
Btspended, prices decline, property is
wrificed, and the leading financial oper
■ *%g are bankrupted—prices decline
f\mn below intrinsic values, because the
tolply from forced sales has exceed-
«flthe demand—everybody begins at
lose to curtail expenses, living within his
[mains and saving something to pay old
[t£ ts with. This directly reduces foreign
« lmerce, and the balance of trade
sl ts to the other side—the nation and
Uj people increase production till it ex-
oi la consumption, and we sell more
ffi i we buy. The country, in due time,
lil itself out of its embarrassment and
Jn **£*srity returns.
Ij ■' I THE PRESENT OUTLOOK.
a'* Tdtermine the present "signs of the
imeiwe have but to inquire into the
tatel commerce and the productive
dusts of the country, for we must not
Ll'!§*getlat the only true wealth is that
hor jich increases the yalue of what-
er itW be applied to. From the late
P°rt \ the bureau of statistics we copy
few Iding articles comparing the ex-
rts al imports of the years 1875 and
-6-.
| IMPORTS.
~™=t ~ tll.8,2 401 tlO.443,337
;*i -aruifaciures 26,095,067 18,794 431
miufactures 39,877^*27 58,068683
-- * * " ■ 1,161,092 748,976
TIKIE ETJi^ESZA
IMIO'VT'EI^, Manufactured at Indianapolis, Ind.
ing the years 1875 and 1876 the imports
diminished about 10 per cent, and the
exports increased 12 per cent., making a
balance of 22 per cent, in our favor. This
is a reliable indication of returning prosperity, though there is yet much in the
table of imported articles which we should
produce at home.
NEW FARMS OPENED LAST YEAR.
Another indication of the reviving industry ofthe country, we find inthe report
of the Secretary of the Interior. In the
fiscal year, ending June last, there were
taken up under the homestead law 2,875,-
909 acres of public land,by actual settlers.
This 5s equivalent to the opening of 17,974
farms of 100 acres each. In addition to
this the government sold for cash and
military warrants 778,340 acres of the
public domain. Allowing but one-fourth
of this for actual settlement, we have
1,215 farms, which added to those under
the homestead law gives 19,189 new farms
opened last year. This does not include
sales from railroad land-grants, nor by
southern States that own the lands within
their boundaries. These would probably
swell their numbers to 25,000. This indicates the return of the average Ameriern
to the primitive source of wealth—the
soil; and if we encourage our manufactures so that the factory operatives will
consume at home the greater part of the
field products, this furnishing a permanent home market, the country will be
placed on a basis of solid prosperity which
nothing but our own folly can disturb.
Indianapolis, March 9th, 1877.
THE BUTTER INDUSTRY.
Oleo-Margarine the Butter
Substitute
Discussions of the National Association Now in Session at
Chicago.
n
U
U
l-lea
rfclo-nfork, beef, etc"™'.
II POETS.
. W4i°a^a^«are«..7.V."..'...."."I»»!837',7S6
1-Jtutft.L
1875.
_.»H3,63l,771
1876.
132,047,461
196,7.3,982
FjW_K!?™!!_*¥*««"^~~~ - ~"~'2«>28 " ~'4i6,2i»
,.ri "on*~1>rk, beef, etc... 84,807,130 108,768,449
Ji'tTI ?vi8Z^Te Bent oat of the country,
,E.;lH_ ."""-WO \n. gold to P*y our debt8> m
la'uM ' "J* exprtationof gold was $47,000,-
^""W ihe wiole table shows the balance
Mr. Peters, of New York, said: The
improvement in Western butter has been
so marked that it needs no remark. It
seems that a more stable prosperity would
follow if the improvement were made on
the farm instead of the factory. He
thought that producers should take the
trouble to attend these conventions, and
take every means to enlarge their knowledge of their products—the economy of
their vocation.
The subject of oleo-margarine has been
given considerable attention of late. People say that they will kill it, but how are
they going to do it? Mr. Peters said.that
he was no apologist for this or any other
fraud. He described the process. He
believed it to be a good product, and
much better than rancid butter. There is
nothing in the oil that is harmful. Chemically it is butter—in fact it is not. He
would like a general law passed to compel every manufacturer to brand their
product just what it is. If it has lived
through all the abuses that have been
heaped upon it; if they can sell 1,800 firkins a week for New York City, assuredly
it must be an established fact. It is
springing up all around. Anyone wou'd
prefer to eat it rather than poor butter.
The only way to fight it is to raise the
standard of the butter to a height which
shall force the oleo-margarine out of the
market, for he believed that no one other
than a fool would eat this, or any other
imitation, when he could get good butter.
The quality of the product must be improved. It ought to be the steady aim of
the association.
Mr. C. F. Dexter, of Chicago, wanted to
know if the consumers of the oleo-margarine knew what they were buying.
Mr. Peters replied that generally the
people were deceived, although the company professed to sell it for oleo-margarine.
Mr. J. E. Botsford, of Cincinnati, said
that the product had been palmed off
upon the Cincinnati public as
side of butter. He could not imagine
why the people would buy the counterfeit for the genuine, when they can get
the genuine for a less price. He could
tell it, and knew that many articles of
the kitchen had been spoiled by its use.
Mr. Goodwin, of Beloit, at the request
of the Chair, described the process of
making oleo-margarine. Mr. Goodwin
favored the manufacture. Under heat it
would tell very quick, but otherwise he
thought that the oleo-margarine, was a
fair product.
_ Mr. Rhodes, of New York, did not believe that the figures published by the
oleo-margarine companies were true, but
we used to delude the public.
Mr. Folsom, of New York, disputed the
position of Mr. Rhodes. From his own
knowledge ha knew that the manufacture and sale of the oleo-margarine was
very large.
Mr. Burroughs, of Chicago, said that
there was one oleo-margarine factory in
this city. . The factory was in Bridgeport.
At this juncture, Mr. John B. Drake,
accompanied by a servant, entered the,
room with a crock of oleo-margarine.
This, he said, had been sent to him by
Mr. Turner three months since, and he
had not looked at it since.
A PRACTICAL TASTE.
On motion, a recess of ten minutes was
taken in which to give the members a
chance to taste the counterfeit butter.
The majority of the gentlemen were
against the product.
Mr. Littler made some witty remarks
in relation to'Mr. John B. Drake, hot
buckwheat cakes, and oleo-margarine,
which created considerable laughter.
Mr. Peters thought a man had a right
to make whatever people would buy. It
is harmless and sells; it does not hurt the
stomach. The only way to fight it is to
make butter of a higher grade. He did
not think that the crock was a fair sample of oleo-margarine.
Mr. Folsom said that if all oleo-margarine was as poor as that exhibited he
would defend it. [A joke, and laughter.]
Mr. Dexter did not think it would be
the thing to get up a law to prevent the
manufacture of oleo-margarine. No legislature would entertain such a propo-
fon. Any thing that is absolutely bane-
could be suppressed, and he hoped
one would be so foolish as to think
otherwise. He did not think that the
article should be sold for what it is not.
Mr. Mitchell, of Boston, said that to his
knowledge, a Boston hotel-keeper had
used nothing but oleo-margarine for the
past two years. The boarders used it
under the impression that it was the finest
COST OF EAI8ING CORE.
What a Practical Fanner says of it in
the Scientific Earner.
For tbe Indiana Farmer. v
IMPORTANT PAPER ON CLOYER
THE MISTAKES OF SOME PEOPLE
IH GBOWING IT.
We note already that discussions have
commenced in the farmer's clubs on the
cost of raising corn, and we must say that
it is surprising how_ few farmers seem
aware of how much it costs them. They
have impressions, but no knowledge. Un- j
doubtedly the cost of a crop varies with
different fields. In the Waushakum Farm
experiments of last year, calling man
labor $1 50 per day, and horse labor 75
cents, one field of eight acres cost per
acre up to harvest time, for labor $5 62J,
one field of 6} acres cost per acre $6 24,
while one field wherein hand labor was
largely employed, cost $19 27 the acre.
If we calculate the labor to the bushels
of crop, we have 7 cents, 9 cents, and 20 8
cents per bushel respectively. These differences represent actual results which
tend to illustrate strongly what results
may be obtained from judicious or judicious labor expenditure, and the character
of that labor. Now these differences,
brought about in this case by the experiment, are no more than actually occur
in the practice of different farmers, and
it is this ignorance of cost which discourages many a one, and leads to a misapprehension concerning the possibilities of the farm economies. If each farmer could be persuaded to keep a time
account with each field, we know that
each year would see a cheapening of production, following the knowledge gained,
and a readaptation of crops_ to the land
and locality. Modem farming, to keep
up with modern advance, must seek modern methods. To buy tools may be wasteful at' times, but if bought to supply a real
need, is always economical. The use of
hand labor, when horse labor can better
take its place, is wasteful. The keeping
of crops too clean is wasteful, for there is
a mean between the cleanliness requisite
for the crops, and that perfect cleanliness
which is so pleasing to the eye. The neglect of fertilizing is wasteful, as well as
the application of an excess of manures.
Some time ago the writer collated all the
reports of premium crops of corn published in the "Agriculture of Massachusetts" for the past twenty years, with the
following results:
Average crop 81 bushela.
Ayer^lataruptoharTertjghoni-sm^labor^
Calculating at the same prices as heretofore, we have tor the average cost of
labor, $16 87 or 20| cents a bushel.
Calculating the cost of labor on 16 acres
of corn grown on Waushakum Farm last
Facts About Sowing, and Yalue to
the Land.
lump butter that they were eating. 0
Mr. Burroughs thought that no doubt year, we have
many first-class hotels in Chicago used Average crop _.. 75V** bushels.
creamery butter adulterated with oiL '■ "n'1""""''
ITEMS OF INTEREST.
WESTERN GERMANY.
Mr. Gooch said that the reason for the
dulness in the butter market was evident.
Mr Rhodes, of New York, said that he
had been asked to sell oleo-margarine as
S.--- ■;»—« wuuduutis uo uwiuu, i dairy products. He had refused to do
wedecitedly in our favor. Oompar- it, but nad placed it in his cellar by the
The biggest and most powerful whiskey ring
of the age, has just been organized in Chicago
and Cincinnati.
Eggs intended for hatching should be packed very carefully. Each egg should be wrapped in paper and the ends ofthe paper should
be twisted, but not very tightly.
When fowls appear to be out of order and
lose their appetite,. the food given to them
should be m xed with a little pepper. If convenient, keep a few oyster shells before them
especially in the laying season.
A Texas horse of unknown pedigree has
tiotted in 2:24 after only a little training. He
was bought for $10 while drawing a Galveston
hand-cart, and his gait was changed from pacing to trotting by driving him ln.two feet of
water. He ia called Crocket.
Small hoga from two hundred to three hundred pounds weight commanded a better price
in England markets than larger ones, which
certainly shows that the po.k eaters on the
other fside of the Atlantic know the difference
between course and fine graded articles.
There are in Connecticut two hundred and
fifty-six ponds, each having five acres or more
of surface. Efforts have been made to introduce valuable fish into them, apparently without success. In thirteen ponds one hundred
and thi rty thousand young land-locked salmon were pnt last year, but none of them are
now to be found. There are trout in fifty-
seven ponds, bass in fifty-seven, pickerel in
one hundred and ninety-six. It is believed
that the number of salmon visiting the rivers
of Connecticut, is now on the increase.
ATeragelaboruptoharvestf^0^^
Calculating on the same prices as above J
we have for the expenditure for this latter, $5 89 per acre or 7.8 cents a bushel.
We thus see that the intelligent use of
labor-saving devices on Waushakum
Farm was efficient to reduce the cost of
labor 13 cents a bushel over the average
results of what we must call the best farmers of Massachusetts.
The Mahopac Seedling Potato.
This wonderful new potato resulted
from a seed ball grown on a German
Chili potato vine, fertilized pollen from
the Pnnce Albert m 1869; vines large, of
a strong and. vigorous growth, foliage
light green, tubes of large and uniform
size, with few small ones, shape, long,
smooth, ovel, and somewhat flattened,
very symmetrical and uniformly handsome in appearance, eyes but slightly
depressed, nearly lev!*-! with the surface,
skin like rose color, season medium late;
for the table they cookr^either by boiling
or baking) through evenly, drv \ and
mealy, and are never hard, hollow or
watery in the center; the tubes grow
compactly in the hill. It is an excellent
keeper, retaining its quality perfectly
throughout the season. A thorough test
the past two years proves it to be' the
most productive variety in cultivation.
It has in every case proven healthy and
hardy, while other varieties planted beside it rotted badly. A rotten one has
not yet been found. Its extraordinary
productiveness, large and uniform size,
fine quality and freedom from rot, make
it a most valuable variety, well worthy of
extensive cultivation.
The telephone is an instrument for conveying articulate sounds long distances, and promises to do wonderful things.
There is no other plant that is of
greater advantage to the farmer than
clover. This will soon be known. universally and acknowledged. As a feed it
stands in the first-class, producing more
milk than any other coarse fodder, and
as much as most of the concentrated
food. It also produces a rich milk; is
readily eaten; this however only when
itis in prime condition. When very
thrifty, in its first growth, as pasture, it
must be fed sparingly at first, especially
with the dew or rain upon it, as in such
case, it is apt to produce bloat, and not
a few cattle have died in this way. Used
for soiling when quite green and tender,
and wet with dew, its effect is not so
good as wished. But well wilted or
partly dried, it affords a good feed for
this purpose. It is perfect when out at
the blossomming period—in the first
stage rather than in fall blossom. This
makes it tender, _ readily assimilable,
with all its virtue in it and available.
It has a large proportion _ of nitrogen.
Fed when ripe it contains but little
available nutriment, and is ranked with
ripe hay and straw. And in this condition it is used to a large extent, though
less so now than formerly. It is hence
that clover has not more readily assumed
the
BANK WHICH IT IS ENTITLED TO.
There is also another cause: its full
value has not been brought out. The
seed being dear, has been used sparingly,
a few quarts per acre being deemed
sufficient. Besides, it has been sown on
poor land or land run down; which prevented a good catch, still more thinning
the stand. Late sowing also contributed
to this. Hence there were light crops,
and but few roots, so that the soil was
but little benefitted; and not unfrequent-
ly there was a total failure, so that the
land had to be re-plowed and re-seeded.
This of course does not pay, and it is
discouraging. Thorough testing has led
the writer to the following inevitable
conclusions:
SOWINO AND OILTIVATINO.
Clover, on whatever land and in whatever condition, must be sown thick, from
eight to twelve quarts per acre; this
sound and clean seed. It must be sown
on a mellow, even surface, and scattered
evenly. Then brushed or harrowed in;
if harrowed, it must be done with a light,
fine-toothed harrow; better use a heavy
brush-drag. This when sown with spring
grain. The best grains to sow it with
are rye, wheat and barley. Oats when
sown quite thin will do. But best of all
is to sow on winter grain, and early in
the season, when the frost is yet busy
with the soil, and the late light snows
give a chance to sow evenly, the track of
the sower being a guide. Earlier put
out, the frost may injure the plant where
the soil is poor or worn out, decidedly
the preferable way is to plow the land
rather late in the fall—better if it could
be done inthe winter—and harrow it
even; then sow in the spring on the light
soows as above directed. Sow no grain.
There will be a'crop then the first year,
which would not be the case if grain
were sown with it, the crop of clover, if
needed, worth more than the grain would
be.
IF THE LAND IS QUITE POOE,
a coat of short manure should be given
it Boon as the land is plowed in the fall,
(or winter), and harrowed in at once,
thus mixing it spmewhat With' the soil,
and smoothing the land, preparing it to
receive the seed in the spring. This
will secure the crop; there can be no
failure. The seed will be sure to sprout
and come, and the manure will stimu-
aijd hasten the growth which will
soon cover the ground and defy the
drouth. In the severest early drouth we
have thus known clover occupying the
ground with a thick seedling, (seeded the
year before,) to grow steadily and closely
and uniformly to sixteen Inches in length,
producing nearly three tons to the acre.
And we have never known this to fail.
Of course a midsummer drouth will not
affect the first crop, which will be re-
mowed the latter part of June, when the
ground, aided by the shading of the moss,
will be moist, and the second crop will at
once start; the July and August heat unable to strike the soil, the crop will continue to grow, and will in the worst cases,
in the severest drough, yield a fair crop
not less than two tons per acre, and the
quality fine-stemmed and concentrated,
will make it all the better feed. Thus
there will be realized five tons in the two
cuttings. But it will almost always be
more, as the drought seldom extends to
both crops; either the first or second
will have more or less gain. In 1871 the
drouth in New York was severe the fore
part of the season thinning and almost
killing the meadows. Yet on good soil
we harve known three tons per acre grown
in the first crop, and over a quarter more
in the second, which was favored with
showery, growing weather.. But the land
was a deep, rich, well drained loam, and
grew besides a heavy aftermath for protection against the frost, and for spring
nutriment to aid early the crop. In this
way clover may be continued for several
years, whereas if but one cutting is made,
and that as is usual when the heads are
turned the stalk is apt to die.
DEAINED SOIL REQUIRES.
Clover requires, absolutely, a drained
soil, else it will freeze out; in the spring
•the plant will lie on the surface if the season is a severe one for frost. It is hence
that our creek and river soil is good for
clover; which is generally of a sandy
and gravelly nature, and therefore well-
drained. Such land takes manure well;
and hence atop dressing (harrowed in)
will secure a catch, and the atmosphere
will do the rest, as clover derives most of
its strength from this source. In this way
the most barren hills have been made productive, and paid all along from the start
Let it be considered what an amount of
root material a thick-set crop of clover will
produce, and little more need be said as to
the
BENEFIT THE LAND
receives in this way. Land which yields
but little grain beyond the amount sown,
and scarcely any pasture at all, may be
made by clover during a period of eighteen months, to grow large crops of grain
for several years, while the clover itself
will be highly remunerating. The land
is not only enriched in this way, but the
crowd of the roots mellows the soil, and
aids in its drainage. Thus our poorest
land can be at once brought up, paying
well in doing it. _ But it must be kept
up. If the clover is omitted for a long
time, and no manure given the land, it
will go back again to its first unremun-
erating condition. But clover will keep
it up, and it may be used in succession
without any grain crop intervening, for
many years, the land improving all the
while.
THE BEST WAY,
however, is to alternate with other crops.
Wheat is a special favorite to come in
after clover; so is corn; in fact, everything
will do well. If clover alone is raised,
eventually the land will become "clover
sick.". So it is said. We have never experienced it, though we have been always familiar with clover, having raised
it from boyhood, and on a large scale,
both for seed and as a forage plant, as well
as a means to enrich the soil. F. G.
Horse-Eating in Paris.
It is thought by a committee which
j has been established in Paris to promote
' the use of horse-flesh as food, that the reappearance of the cattle plague is a fitting
time to bring it beforethe public. In
their efforts at doing this the following
statistics have been given: The first
horse butcher in Paris opened his sviop
in 1866. In 1867 there were sold to the
public fcr consumption, 2,152 horses,
asses and mules. The number had risen
in 1868 to 1,658, in 1872 to 5,732, and in
1875 to 6,865. Last year the French people ate nearly 9,000 horses, 643 asses and
35 mules. At the same time the butchers' shops in Paris and in various provincial towns at which hippophagists can
gratify their taste had risen to 58. It is
also stated that a philanthropic Frenchman has placed at the disposal of the
committee a sum of 1,110 francs, which
is to be given (together with a medal) to
the first horse butcher who shall establish
himself in London.
To Owners of Stallions!
We are well supplied witli cuts of late designs f r
HORSE AND JACK BILLS,
and will print the same in first-class style, on heavy
paper, at tne following prices:
50 Quarter Sheet Posters for $2.50.
100 " " 3.00.
50 Eighth Sheet Posters for $2 00.
100 " " 2.50.
Mailed to any address free of postige. The cnta
are best adapie 1 to the larger size bills.
Send for s____pies of < ub uefure ordering elsewhere.
Address. INDIANA FAKMER COJl-ANy,
Indianapolis,! n
m
pi

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Content in the Indiana Farmer Collection is in the public domain (published before 1923) or lacks a known copyright holder. Digital images in the collection may be used for educational, non-commercial, or non-for-profit purposes.